I Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are triune – body, soul, and spirit. Jesus Christ was body, soul, and spirit. The Word is also triune – body, soul, and spirit. There is a body interpretation, which is completely on the physical natural realm. For example, the name Israel would always represent the nation of Israel. There is also a soul interpretation, which is below the natural. It is a deeper interpretation. You will find revelation of principles and truths on the soulish plane of the Scriptures. That realm of interpretation, though, focuses on self. Below the soul realm is the Spirit realm and is God-centered. The great deception is that which is of the soul realm looks so much like the realm of Spirit. Many of the same teachings are on both realms; both speak of prophecy and the gifts of the Spirit. In many ways the soul realm is a facsimile of the Spirit realm. It looks the same, but it isn’t.
We are naturally soulish. Therefore, that which is of the soul feels comfortable to us. The Spirit realm, on the other hand, does not feel comfortable when we are first exposed to it. Functioning on the soul realm is like paddling down stream. It’s easy, but turn the boat around and try paddling upstream against the current. Functioning spiritually is in opposition to the current of your soul nature.
I Corinthians 2:1-2 And I,
brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of
wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know
anything among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
Some ministers, using this verse as a basis, only preach about the crucifixion of Jesus. As we shall see, though, Paul is speaking of something deeper than the surface reading.
I Corinthians 2:7-8 But we speak the
wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages
for our glory,
8 Which none of the rulers of this age
knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
The “rulers of this age” are those who minister on the soul realm. Now, understand what I’m going to say. I warn you in advance that if you don’t have understanding, it will sound like heresy. Jesus Christ will have to be crucified in your thinking, in your soul realm. You will not know the Lord of Glory until that happens. He is not walking around in a fleshly body. He is not on the soul realm. He is Spirit!
It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Spirit will not come to you (John 16:7). Where is He going? I go to the Father (John 16:16). Is He going to a God separate from Him? No, He is becoming! He is moving into a Fathering ministry of producing Himself in others. Many Christians can only relate to Jesus the Nazarene, which is a hindrance to knowing Jesus the Lord of Glory.
Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, God revealed that to you and not man” (Matthew 16:15-17). A few verses later Jesus tells them that He will go to Jerusalem and He will be killed there. Peter speaks up again and rebukes Jesus saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” And Jesus responded, “Get behind Me, Satan.” (Matthew 16:21-23). What was Peter really saying? “Oh, no! They can’t take my fleshly Jesus!” That is the way it is for many people today. They’ve got to have their fleshly Jesus. Well, until your fleshly Jesus is crucified, you will not know the Lord of Glory.
One of His disciples asked, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” for Jesus had said, “The world will see Me no more.” Then Jesus explained that He is making His abode in His saints (John 14:22,19,23).
You can function on the soul realm and see many of the truths and principles of the Kingdom of heaven. They will look real good, just like the real thing. They will feel good because they will agree with your soul nature. Do you understand how the Lord of Glory is crucified? When you are locked-in to the soul realm and will not function in the realm of Spirit, you are crucifying the Lord of Glory.
Copyright © 2004 by Henry DuBose